


Progression

by mmmdraco



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 15:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3492887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The good distraction at the moment is the phone call he's getting, the soft buzz of vibration alerting him, and a quick glance at the screen making his breath catch in his throat. He hits the green icon to accept the call, bringing it up to his ear just a bit too quickly, and huffs out a laugh. "Bruce. I thought you weren't coming."</p><p>There's a moment of silence that pulls the corners of Steve's mouth into a frown. "I'm not. Gotham is-"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Progression

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think I've ever written Bruce Wayne before, and if I've written Steve? It wasn't much. So, please forgive me this as someone requested it of me and I have no idea if I pulled it off.

Even after being in this phase of life that feels like a new reality for years, there's still something about the mobile phone that throws Steve off. He still expects a heft there, and the moment of anticipation in answering the call to see whether it's good or bad or a wrong number. He's got a smart phone now, though, and he can see why it has the name. It still throws him a little sometimes that virtually any knowledge he needs is at his fingertips, and that he knows what Galaga is now and has played it (ad nauseum) in the back of military vehicles directed by men insistent that it was a safer option than Steve making his own way. It rankles, but not quite as much with a good distraction. 

The good distraction at the moment is the phone call he's getting, the soft buzz of vibration alerting him, and a quick glance at the screen making his breath catch in his throat. He hits the green icon to accept the call, bringing it up to his ear just a bit too quickly, and huffs out a laugh. "Bruce. I thought you weren't coming."

There's a moment of silence that pulls the corners of Steve's mouth into a frown. "I'm not. Gotham is-"

"I get it." Steve smiles suddenly. "I'm having some of the same problem here. You know, years ago, one of us would just move."

Bruce makes a noise Steve isn't sure how to interpret, but it doesn't sound like disagreement. His voice, when he next speaks, doesn't have the command he normally imbues it with. "Why not now?"

The truth is, Steve has thought about it. New York is a big city and gets a lot of focus from the people who think they want to destroy something, but there are a lot of people dedicated to saving it. It's easy to forget sometimes that Bruce keeps Gotham as close to safe as he can with less help. "It would probably skew the balance. It's not that I wouldn't, but I don't think I could. And, you... I know you wouldn't leave Gotham to itself. You're just like that."

Bruce hums in agreement and it tells Steve that he's been right since the beginning that they're two sides of the same coin sometimes. His own justice is a little less driven toward darkness, but there's still a certain stubbornness in both of them toward their own sense of right that makes them clash on occasion. "I should be able to fly out this weekend if all goes well tonight."

It's a blatant hint that Bruce will be out putting himself in danger, and Steve can't help but care. But, he trusts the other man to stay as safe as he can. It's not looking for trouble, after all, it's looking to stop it. "I think we're clear so far then, but there's been talk about an uprising in Nebraska I might need to fly over for. I'll let you know."

"I could fly to Nebraska, too." Steve is surprised at the thought, and Bruce sounds just as shocked to have voiced it. "If you need me to, I will. I don't see you very often for being in the next state over, and the cost of the flight won't matter."

"We're saving the world. There's only so much time for other things, and it depends on how easily we can neutralize those threats." Steve shrugs, switching his phone to the other ear and rubbing his neck. "This works as much as anything else, so I'm not giving up on it."

Bruce laughs and it breaks the building tension just enough. "As much as anything else, huh? I don't think I've found anything it compares to, yet."

"Not even peace?" Steve can't help the words that he lets loose, quick to slip into something with Bruce that he doesn't normally allow himself.

"Isn't this peace, though? It feels like it." It's a sappy declaration for how thing normally run between them, but it's maybe the time for it. 

Steve sucks in a breath and reaches for the lemonade he'd poured and forgotten until his mouth went a little dry. "You and I both know that peace doesn't last like we want it to. So I hope this isn't peace." He takes a sip of his drink, condensation clinging to the glass and making his fingers damp. "Maybe a little more like freedom?"

Bruce inhales sharply enough that Steve can hear it and it feels good to have caused it. "I think I can deal with freedom."

"Be careful out there tonight, okay?" Steve wants to let himself think about somehow going out to join in Bruce's efforts, but transportation is something that still hasn't progressed a whole lot since he first joined the army. They made it safer and more comfortable, but with all of the extra restriction, it isn't any faster. "I know you're tough, but you can't fly out if you need an IV drip."

"I'll do what I can." Bruce makes a noise that sounds like the start of something else, but stops to clear his throat. "I should get going, Steve."

Steve laughs because they're so bad at this, at the keeping in touch using words when there are just enough miles between them to feel like too many. "I should, too. I'm not expecting anything to come up over here, but it's still been known to happen without my permission."

"Permission?" Bruce lets out a throaty noise that sends a shiver down Steve's spine. "That's something we could have fun with sometime."

It should be strange, really, that the idea of it turns Steve on a little, because men having power over other men has always angered him, but the expressed consent makes it feel entirely different. "Then take care of business tonight and pray to God that Nebraska doesn't want to be a problem after all."

"Sure." There's a certain something to Bruce's voice that Steve can't quite find meaning to, but he blames the fact that he can't see the man's face. They've tried Skype and several other things, but phone calls are that medium they keep coming back to because they easy to ignore if they're not convenient, but easy to relax into when they are. "This weekend then?"

Steve glances around his apartment and remembers what it's like to have Bruce there, making it feel something like home. "This weekend."

Bruce swallows roughly and Steve knows it's followed by a nod. "I'll call you when I'm on my way."

"And I'll answer." It's an absolute they don't normally deal in, but it feels like it'll work to say it this time. Surprisingly, a lot of things feel like they'll work that never seemed they would before. "Bye, Bruce. Go save Gotham from itself."

"Bye, Steve. Love you." The phone disconnects a fraction of a second later, and there's a dial tone loud in his ear by the time he comes to terms with the words.

They've dealt in a lot of feelings so far, but love has always functioned best as an abstract idea between them. Steve drinks down the rest of his lemonade absently, wondering if maybe that old line about absence making the heart grow fonder wasn't so wrong after all.


End file.
